Discovering what love is one day at a time
However if you were to put on a pair of jeans backwards, or a pair of tailored pants…ummm...yep…you definitely would be able to tell if you had put them on backwards. It would feel out of place, uncomfortable. What if this was the norm? What if you were told that this is the way to wear your pants? What if even though it felt wrong, because it was the norm and nobody around you recognized that it wasn’t working, you just stayed putting on your pants that way?
When clothing is out of place it rubs you the wrong way…shoes cause blisters, sores, wounds. If a wound keeps happening, the skin forms a scab or a callous, scar tissue. You can apply this picture to your heart. Wounds left unattended, and covered by a callous, scab or scar tissue, are still there. When that callous…that protection that you have allowed is lifted up and a little light gets in, you actually see the hurt. It’s what you do with it that matters. It’s really easy to just shove it back under, and leave it there. It is much more painful to reveal the whole wound…. Once the air touches that raw skin…ouch… God has hand tailored our hearts. He has given us life, and has placed us in this world under His structure and His order. He made it so that we could live under His protection and order, because He loves us so much. I love the scripture that says “Surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.” When God starts to show me something in my life that is unhealthy for me, sometimes it feels like He is pulling back the skin of my heart, and letting light in. And when His goodness and His mercy touch that wound it is like the air on raw skin. Because I have experienced His loving touch in my life, I am not afraid of the light, or the air, or Him even pulling the skin back. It is a good pain. I do not like when I do not have the courage to let go. I hear what He is saying, but it goes against the “norm.” Yet, I know the only reason I can call Him Lord, is because He has made Himself known to me. I know Him, only because He made Himself heard. And I have a responsibility to deal with whatever it is that He has made Himself heard about, for His glory, and not mine. Speaking the truth in love, He has given us the ability to do this. Lack of courage, is pride, pride says this way is working…why would I want to disrupt the norm. Pride says, Lord, You do not know what You are talking about. Pride …yuck. He has given me all things that pertain to this life and godliness. I do not think that once we are saved we are done growing…or healing for that matter….. We are always turning over more of our life to Him, surrendering unbelief, healing, growing. In Shrek, he compared ogres to onions. So if life and our hearts are like onions, and God keeps pulling off layers…Wonder what stage I am in?…Has He even got to the white skin yet, or is He still working on the brown paper-like skin…and when there are no layers left, I guess I get to be dead in this world. Living life with wounds left unattended is like getting up in the morning and putting your pants on backwards...over and over again. God is faithful to show us those wounds. The question is are we willing to stay open, and ask Him what He is really talking about when He starts to bring it up? I have noticed for me, that He shows me bits and pieces, either through incidents with family, questions from friends that get my attention, and even basic life in the world. At that point, it is not enough information for me to really understand. But when I really question Him and ask the Why’s? Why Lord do I not do this? Or why do I react that way? He starts to show me the truth behind all of it. Then, I have some choices to make. Do I repent for the lie I believed? Do I ask for Him to fill that space with His truth, and will I forgive, and bless those who were involved in my wound? Also, is there some other thing that He would have me do in the restoration of that relationship? It’s so much easier to walk through life with Him, than without Him. It is so much better when we keep our humanness from plugging up the wells of life that He has supplied us with.
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AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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